Good deeds included someone who secretly paid a neighbour's vet bill, another who gave warm clothes to a rough sleeper and youngsters who painted public benches. The kind-hearted village reached its target of 800 random favours on Christmas Day.

Becci North, one of the organisers and villagers, said: "A random act of kindness can be something very small, but it can have a major impact on someone's life.

"Everyone embraced the project. It did not matter how small or large the act was, it was the fact someone took the time to help another person.

"So far, we have 817 acts of random kindness recorded and I am aware that there are some more to come in. The whole community have come together over the past year and blessed one another and those within communities further a field."

The kind-hearted village reached its target of 800 random favours on Christmas Day Photo: SWNS

She added: "What is wonderful is the spirit in which all of this was taken. It wasn't about brownie points for good deeds but about love, about raising awareness of how simple acts of kindness can mean so much to someone else, even more to those you do not know.

"In a world where some people don't even know their neighbours, this initiative showed the fantastic amount of community spirit and compassion their is in Congresbury."

The village of Congresbury is 13 miles from Bristol and has a population of around 3,500.

St Andrew, an Anglican church, was consecrated in 1215, and locals pledged to be kinder to each other to celebrate the 800th anniversary last year.